The Short Listen: From Kremlin to Kremlin

In 1931, Joseph Roane had a degree in agricultural science and a nice family farm in Kremlin, VA. But at the height of the Great Depression, that wasn’t worth squat. Then Joseph Stalin came a-knocking.

From With Good Reason, the Short Listen combines compelling interviews with short-form storytelling to bring the best of each week’s episode in around five minutes.

Discussion

2 Comments on “The Short Listen: From Kremlin to Kremlin”

Would like to know more about his wife, since in a society like it was then, and to a lesser extent today, interracial marriage was not welcomed. It is interesting to note that a White man could have a relationship with a Black woman, and his life was not at great risk. On the other hand a Black man in a relationship with a White woman would face almost certain lynching, and she would be at risk as well. Any other information, including pictures of this couple both in Virginia as well as The Soviet Union. Thank you..

You might be thinking of the couple we profiled in the previous week’s episode, Peter and Mildred Loving. You’re right that one reason their case was successful was because it was unusual. Our guest, historian Peter Wallenstein, mentions some of the previous cases that were unsuccessful in striking down bans on miscegenation. You can listen to his segment here.